Talks between the National Hockey League and its players' union resumed Sunday, with a possibility Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr could meet face to face on Monday. Or, the NHL lockout could remain in stalemate and headed for a season cancellation.

League and union leaders finished with informational talks by midday. They then needed to figure out if they were ready to bargain again in hopes of saving the 2012-13 season, nearly half of which already is canceled.

Donald Fehr and the players' union could be headed back to meetings with Gary Bettman and the NHL. (AP Photo)

Since the NHL made its new contract offer Thursday, the sides limited themselves to questions and answers about the proposal. Those discussions lasted much of Saturday and resumed Sunday morning — by conference call and in face-to-face meetings with staff members.

"There will be no further face-to-face meetings today," the union said in a statement Sunday. "The plan is for the sides to meet tomorrow."

The NHLPA had to digest a new proposal from the league, which was send to union chief Fehr on Thursday. The document included concessions by the NHL and other items that were new to the collective bargaining talks.

Without a CBA in place, the league's lockout reached Day 106 on Sunday. There have been no negotiations since the sides met with a federal mediator Dec. 13.

Weekend talks were spurred by the nearly 300-page contract proposal the NHL presented to the union Thursday.

A person familiar with key points of the offer told The Associated Press that the league proposed raising the limit of individual free-agent contracts to six years from five — seven years if a team re-signs its own player; raising the salary variance from one year to another to 10 percent, up from 5 percent; and one compliance buyout for the 2013-14 season that wouldn't count toward a team's salary cap but would be included in the overall players' share of income.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the new offer weren't being discussed publicly.

The NHL maintained the deferred payment amount of $300 million it offered in its previous proposal, an increase from an earlier offer of $211 million. The initial $300 million offer was pulled after negotiations broke off this month.

The latest proposal is for 10 years, running through the 2021-22 season, with both sides having the right to opt out after eight years.

If this offer doesn't quickly lead to a new collective bargaining agreement, the next round of cuts could claim the entire schedule.

It is still possible this dispute could be settled in the courts if the sides can't reach a deal on their own.

The NHL filed a class-action suit this month in U.S. District Court in New York in an effort to show its lockout is legal. In a separate move, the league filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, contending bad-faith bargaining by the union.

Those moves were made because the players' association took steps toward potentially filing a "disclaimer of interest," which would dissolve the union and make it a trade association. That would allow players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL.

Union members voted overwhelmingly to give their board the power to file the disclaimer by Wednesday. If that deadline passes, another authorization vote could be held to approve a later filing.